Fire
by Thalia Marie Grace
Summary: It was her hair, curling around her face and making her look paler than she already was. It was her skin, the way it seared against his and left him shivering when she moved. It was the look in her eyes when she was so, so determined and would not be influenced to do anything else. Clary radiated fire. She made Jace feel warm no matter where they were—as long as they were together.


**Author's Note: I HAVE A SERIOUS CASE OF WRITER'S BLOCK AND I CAN'T SEEM TO WRITE ANYTHING FOR PROJECT MARRIAGE AND FOR THAT I AM EXTREMELY SORRY.**

**But while you're waiting for that, please enjoy this fluffy Clace one-of-four-shot.**

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><p><strong>Fire<strong>

It was her hair, curling around her face and making her look paler than she already was. It was her skin, the way it seared against his and left him shivering when she moved. It was the look in her eyes when she was so, _so _determined and would not be influenced to do anything else. It was the tone of her voice when she was angry, searing through his mind. It was what he felt when he kissed her, cupping her face in his palms.

It _was _her. Clary _radiated _fire. She made Jace feel warm no matter where they were—as long as they were together. She represented fire.

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><p>It was in the wintertime, roughly before Jace's nineteenth birthday and before Christmas, but mundanes in the state were out for winter break. New York was experiencing one of its coldest winters, and Jace could <em>definitely <em>feel the frostbite.

"Aren't you _cold?" _he demanded of his girlfriend, who was dressed in only a sweater, jeans, and boots. The thick, pale blue beanie that matched the half winter gloves on her hands covered Clary's hair, but that was it for warmth.

"No." Clary answered, shrugging absent-mindedly as she sipped at the cup of hot chocolate in her hands. "Ask my mom—I've never been that cold during the winter."

"You're crazy." Jace told her, and she shrugged again in response. The snow started to fall a little harder, the wind picking up its speed. The curls in her fiery red hair blew against her pale skin.

"Must be my hair." she said jokingly, cracking a smile as she lifted one of the curls.

"Maybe," he answered, smiling slightly too. But his golden eyes were on her face, taking in how the curls framed her heart-shaped face. If possible, it made her skin paler—more like a snow white. Fire red and snow white. He remembered the last time she wore red lipstick, and suddenly found that he wanted her to wear it again.

Jace loved Clary's red hair. She hated it—always complained it was an "ugly carrot colour"—but Jace always protested, answering that it was more of an apple red, that was not too bright but not too dark and it was rich. Depending on the light, her hair really _did _look like it was on fire.

"What?" Clary broke the silence, her green eyes shining with confusion. "Why are you staring at me?"

She hated when he did that too.

"You're beautiful." Jace answered her, and her cheeks flushed with a light red in embarrassment.

"You're delusional." she replied.

"You know what I think?"

"No."

"I think you should wear the red lipstick for Christmas. The one your mom gave you."

Clary blushed even darker. "I don't think I should."

But when Christmas rolled around, she did anyway.

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><p>Sometime around late February, the heat in their apartment went out.<p>

The snowstorm outside wasn't exactly reassuring, either. The landlord in the building promised to have the generator on—which it was—but it wasn't very effective. The thermostat still read fifty degrees.

"There is absolutely _nothing _on TV." Clary complained from the couch, moving over to let Jace sit down.

"Leave it to mundane things to never be entertaining." Jace agreed, earning a light punch on the arm. "I was _kidding, _Clary. Don't we have movies over there?"

"Of course we do." she waved a hand. "I already put in a DVD."

"Then why'd you complain there was nothing on TV?"

"Because there isn't."

She said it as if it made sense, switching the input on the TV before lying back against her boyfriend's chest. Jace wrapped his arms around her.

Clary shifted as the movie started, lying more comfortably across Jace. It was insane how small she was, how easily she could fit almost anywhere—no matter how hard she tried, she was never too heavy or too uncomfortable when she laid across him like this. It amused Jace when she tried.

"By the Angel, you're freezing." Clary muttered, pulling the blanket up higher.

"I'm not a superhero with magic fire powers." Jace teased her. The side of her mouth quirked up in a smile. "Besides, that's what you're here for, isn't it? To make sure I don't freeze to death?"

"Sure." Clary said sarcastically, kissing his cheek. When she put her head back down, the spot where her lips had been suddenly felt colder that it had before.

Within minutes, underneath both Clary and the wool blanket, Jace was incredibly warm. Almost sweating, even.

"Are you hungry?" Clary looked up at him. "I'm kind of hungry."

"The kitchen's right there." Jace answered, giving her grin. "So if you're hungry, food is a definite option."

She rolled her eyes, standing up. Even though the blanket was still over her boyfriend, he shivered at the lack of warmth.

Clary stopped at the counter, her eyes shining. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Jace asked immediately, though his teeth chattered slightly.

"You're cold." her expression was triumphant.

"Am not!"

"Are _too." _Clary answered, opening the fridge, still smirking at her boyfriend.

"I am not." Jace insisted.

She rolled her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time, but she answered, "All right, Frosty. You're not cold."

But she laughed at the sigh of relief he let out (_accidentally_, mind you) when she laid back down.

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><p>"No."<p>

Clary's eyes blazed when he spoke, but her mouth was a tight line. Jace could tell she was holding in her anger, trying to calm herself. But it wouldn't work.

"Why. Not?" she spoke through gritted teeth, her arms clenching each other as she crossed them over her chest.

"Because it's too dangerous." Jace answered, speaking slowly.

She scoffed. "My middle name is dangerous."

"Actually, it's Adele." he pointed out, and continued when she scowled: "I know what you're capable of. But this is just too dangerous."

"It's just _demons_, Jace."

"Demons who are working with vampires." Jace argued. "The answer is no. Let Magnus, Alec, and Izzy take this one."

For a moment, Clary's angry look dissolved into a surprised one. "You're not going?"

"No." he gave her a look. "I'm the only one who can catch you if you try to sneak off."

Her angry look was back. "Jace—"

"Don't make me say no again, Clary." Jace cut her off, crossing his own arms over his chest. His heart was pounding as she was silent, glaring at him with everything she had.

"You are the most _selfish _person I have _ever _met!" she finally snapped. "Just because I'm your girlfriend _doesn't mean _you're allowed to say what I can and can't hunt! I could take care of this problem _by myself _and you know it, Jace Herondale!"

Jace didn't answer, but it didn't matter; he wouldn't have had time to.

"This is just one small job that I could _handle!" _Clary was on her feet now. Her green eyes were sparkling with anger, and her voice was loud but menacing. When was the last time she'd been this angry? Jace couldn't remember.

"I don't understand you." she put her finger against his chest, jabbing it. "But if you want to be a dick about this and make me stay back, _fine. _Don't expect me to be happy about it. Or happy with _you."_

Clary stormed off, her red curls bouncing behind her.

Jace sighed, crossing his eyes briefly in agitation. He let his arms fall to the sides and—once he made sure Clary was not coming back into the room—groaned loudly.

So much for proposing to her tonight.

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><p>Clary was steaming at the table.<p>

She was fuming. She had been fuming for the past fifteen minutes, while Jace had reclined on the couch and flipped through mundane movie channels. None of it was entertaining.

"Will you _turn _that shit off?" Clary snapped at him.

Those were the first words she'd spoken to him since Alec, Isabelle, and Magnus left to go take care of the demons. Her words were sharp, like ice, but they stung like fire. Jace sighed and turned off the television, setting the remote down and standing up from the couch.

"Fine." Jace answered, jamming his hands into his pockets. Now that she was pissed, there wasn't any use to try to propose to her later anyway. She might as well just go fight.

Clary blinked at him.

"Well, are you just going to sit there or are you going to grab your stele and join them?" Jace cocked his head toward the door. He tried not to sound exasperated, but at this point, he was so exhausted and he hated fighting with her so he didn't care.

"You're...I can go help?" Clary blinked again.

"Yeah." Jace swallowed. "Go. Have fun. That's what you want, isn't it?"

Maybe he sounded bitter.

She frowned. "That's what I wanted, yeah. But...is there something you're not telling me?"

Just like that, all of his anger seemed to wipe away. It was weird, the things she did to him, the way she made him feel—Jace hated it and loved it at the same time.

"Yes," he admitted in a sigh. He wasn't planning on it, not tonight, not now that his whole plan had gone to hell and it was a stupid way to get on with it, but Jace was losing his courage quickly and probably was never going to get it back again.

"What is it?" Clary stood up, her eyebrows pinching together.

"I wanted to ask you to marry me. That's why I said no."

The expression on her face made him want to reverse time and not say anything at all. Her face was drained of colour. "You were...you said..."

Jace smiled sheepishly at her. "Surprise. So...uh...will you marry me?"

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><p><strong>To my wonderful readers: sorry about this cliff-hanger. Well...no, not really. HAHAHAHA. But seriously, I love you guys. And I'd love you even more if you knew where that came from. And if you reviewed. Reviewing is nice, too.<strong>

**There are three more one-shots that go along with this. Just letting you know. **


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